Inuzuka Hino
Inuzuka Hino, they said. It was the bane of the Inuzuka clan, they said. It shouldn't have lived, they said. It's a curse, they said. It should've died, they said.
But Inuzuka Tsume didn't care about what they said. She was responsible of the life growing inside of her. She had carried the baby for nine long months. And like hell she'll allow those bastards to end her baby's life after nine long months. No, she didn't care what they said. None at all. Not even the slightest. Because.....
"I just want the freaking baby out of my stomach NOW!!!!" Tsume roared as her swelling stomach contracted once again. "You're fvcking ninjas, dammit! Use those blessed speed! Call Uchiha Shisui! Demand him to take me to the hospital!!!"
"Ma'am, he's out in a mission," an Inuzuka said beside her.
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Shisui sneezed and he was suddenly felt grateful being out in a mission, although he knew not why he would suddenly felt that way. Oh, well, it might just be nothing.
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"Don't ma'am me you stupid morons!! The hospital! Now!!!" Tsume roared again. "And if Uchiha Shisui is out, call the Yondaime Hokage, you morons!"
"We don't think it's wise to call him-"
"Then be quicker, you sh!theads!" Tsume growled.
"Be patient, kaa-chan. We're almost there!" Inuzuka Hana, Tsume's daughter, said.
"Don't 'be patient' me! I don't need almost, I need now!!" Tsume screamed as she then howled in pain. "I think the baby's coming out now!!" At this, the Inuzuka clan members who escorted Tsume paled. "I can feel it!!" They rushed faster, leaving Hana behind, gasping for air.
Why? Oh, why does the compound have to be not near the hospital? Then again, even if it's near, Tsume would still complain loudly.
'I don't think I want to ever be pregnant,' Hana thought as she recalled her mother's pained expression. 'There's been only quite few things that could make her has that expression.' Hana shuddered. 'Many say the pain is worth it, but....is it truly?'
"I don't get why she would keep it," Hana spat. "It's not worth the pain."
"Hana!!!" she heard her mother howled in a great distance. Just how loud was she shouting? Hana could felt her ears tingled unpleasantly.
"HANA!!!!"
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Hana shouted as loud as she could and grumbled all the way to the hospital.
That's right, she thought. Mom is wrong this time around. She is led by her strong sense of guilt if she ever kill it. Blame the Inuzuka blood for that. It's a blessing as much as a curse.
It isn't worth the pain she went through and will go through.
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She was finally awake.
She didn't know where she was or what happened. All she knew was that she was sleeping, or supposed to be sleeping until she was out, although she knew not why and how. It was like shoving her in Arctic when she was above a volcano a moment before. The temperature change was drastic and she started wailing.
Where on earth was she?
Her mind felt cramped as she tried to remember. She was doing something important before. That urgency running through her blood was a solid proof of that.
"Quick! What do you think we're doing?! A goody two shoes business?!"
What was that?
"Bloody hell. When is the war going to stop? It's been years...miserable years...."
She couldn't remember.
"The World War is closing in! We'll live peacefully!"
"As if we can," She retorted to the boy who exclaimed happily. "This-"
She couldn't remember anything anymore. What was she doing? A helpless feeling came over her as she then cried, wailing loudly.
"Hino," a tired voice called out to someone. "Hino." The woman's voice became stronger. "Hino." What the heck was Hino?! "Shussh, Hino." Her foot somehow found its way to the woman's face.
A smack was heard loud and clear as she continued to wail.
"Did she just.....kicked my face..?" the woman asked slowly.
"She did, kaa-chan. She kicked you nicely," a girl said. "She even left a faint mark."
"...I don't know how to react to my infant daughter kicking my face..." the woman commented. There was a pause before she then said, "Hana, would you like to carry your little sister?" There was silence for a while.
"What?! ME carry her?! How can you be so sure that I won't drop her dead?" the girl exclaimed.
"Just try," the woman said darkly. "And we'll see what happened."
Silence and tension reigned the room before the girl tensely took the bundle in her arms and looked down on the baby.
Who was the girl holding her right now? She looked up at the strange girl and stared. The girl had something on both her cheeks. It's red....
The girl, Hana, stared at the baby. She looked so innocent and curious that it didn't match the thoughts of the Inuzuka clan on her. She was innocent, Hana realized. The war ended months ago and this baby in her arms was innocent, never lifting a kunai or end a life. Compared to her, Hana suddenly felt dirty.
The clan was wrong. This baby had never done any wrong-doings at all. She was still pure. And Hana felt the urge to protect her from the horrors of the shinobi world. From the horrors she saw during the war. Those bloodied shinobis....Hana shook her head to rid of the thought.
She then decided on that day and on that spot to protect her little sister who did nothing wrong.
Tsume looked at both of her daughters closely and smiled in satisfaction when she noticed the change in Hana. She had faith that her eldest daughter would see how stupid it was to blame a baby for something she didn't do. For simply existing.
"I'm Hana....your nee-chan...." Hana murmured softly at Hino's ear. "Hana."
Tsume grinned. Yes, things were going nicely. Now, if only babies didn't cry so much....
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Ten months had passed since Hino's birth. She was confused as to why she was there, where she was, and why. And what happened.
"Hino!"
She knew that she was not originally from this world. And thinking sometimes cause her extreme pain, especially thinking about the mystery of her birth. Or remembering.
"Hino!"
She only had a few flashes, all of them so short, and she became more frutrated each time. It's like giving her small pieces of a puzzle the size of Asia!
"Hino!!"
What was Asia again?
"HINO!!!!"
She looked at who called her. She forgot that her name was Hino now. From the Fire. Huh.
"Finally," Hana said. "Sometimes, you spaced out too much to be normal for an Inuzuka."
And apparently, she was part of a clan; Inuzuka clan. The Doggie clan. At least she was grateful not being named Inuno... From the Dogs. That would be horrifying.
Hino gave the elder sister a look that said 'What?'.
"Come one, let's arrange your playdate or something like that," Hana told her.
Playdate?! Playing with those drool-trolls?! Hino shook her head fervently, crawling away as fast as she could. No way was she going to agree willingly. She would fight with tooth and nail if she had to!
"Oh, come on, Hino...."
She glared at Hana, hiding behind a chair. She bit Hana's hand when Hana wanted to pick her up. She abhorred those drool-trolls that stick too close to her!
"Hino, it's okay. Don't be shy...."
And Hana thought she didn't want to come because she's shy!! What a joke!
Hino glared at Hana, determined not coming to that ridiculous playdate.
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She ended up coming after being tied with ropes. Hana was just too persistent. Oh, she would make the older sister learn the hard way not to force her into something she didn't want. She would make sure it was big enough for her....mother...to get it too.
Argh! It's hard calling Tsume 'mother'! And why the heck would her grandparents named her new...mother....Claws?! Ah, wait, this world was abnormal. Expect weird things.
Hana opened the door to the trolls, and, as a baby was drolling in front of her, a millimeter away from her nose, Hino screamed.
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"I can't believe that every one of your playdates came out disastrous," Hana shook her head in disbelieve, but there was a smile on her face. She found what happened to HIno amusing. Hino glared at her elder sister from the corner of her eyes, pouting. She was wet from head to toe, there was even some pieces of ice in her clothes. Hino growled lowly when she thought what happened in the playdate that her sister and mother oh so graciously arranged.
It was a disaster. Enough said.
"I can't believe that you pour the syrup on the table, I'm not going to ask how exactly you got there, and threw ice-cubes on whichever baby decided to go near you. You're a baby too, for goodness sake!" Hana barked a laugh. Hino glared at her, nose to nose, cursing her inability to speak Japanese. She could know some words and the meaning would pop in her head, but she definitely did not know how to speak Japanese. And that sucks. Totally sucks.
So she did what she could, pout and glare. Thirteen times. That would make for PG-13, Pout Glare-13 times. Being a baby again totally sucks!!! An example? How about right now, when Hana was carrying her like she's only a bag of bread.
If only her best friend was reincarnated here too.
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Yukino sneezed, suddenly remembering a certain brutal best friend of hers. Yukino hoped that she would suffer the same idiotic fate like her, being a baby again.
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Hino sneezed. She rubbed her nose as she thought why would she, not that mafia best friend of hers, that sneezed. Not that she would admit it out loud, but she truly missed that mafia leader. The one that striked fear just by the mention of her alias. Not that her reputation was any better. Hino was a gang leader Before, and the government hated her. Well, that's actually a light word. Despise was more like it.
She had so much fun messing with those governments. She remembered-
Nothing. Hino grumbled in frustration. Just when she was about to remember something!! All she had, the memory she was sure of, was about her best friend. That mafia leader!! Hino wanted to rip her hair in frustration, too bad it was too short to even be called hair.
Ah, yes, she remembered one other thing. Her eyes were still brown, the same shade, but her hair, it was auburn now. It would probably take a while to get comfortable in her new body, with all her new features.
Synchronizing with her new body was a pain in the ass, but alas, she had no choice but to do it. Tch, Fate did have a twisted humor. Too bad it can't get tumor. Hino would be the first to revel in the pain. Why the heck would she be reincarnated here anyways?
And, no, she did not believe in messiah or something like that. Nope. Not at all.
"I can't believe I'm saying this to a baby but," Hana sighed. "Keep doing that and you'll get early wrinkles. Geez, I've never met a baby who frowns as much as you." Hino stuck out her tongue to Hana and turned her head again. Doing PG-13.
While glaring at something, the road, Hino suddenly realized something. The only people she's met was her mother and her older sister, and some of those disgusting trolls. She had never met any other Inuzuka clan members. Why would that be?
Inuzuka was a clan of dogs. A pack. They care for their own pups and loyalty more than anything. But why would she only met Tsume and Hana? What about her father? Her close cousins? Her gut told her that something's not right.
Who exactly was she? Who was Inuzuka Hino? Why-
Hino fell asleep, her head fell on Hana's shoulder. Hana smiled as she looked at her baby sister from the corner of her eyes and pat her back softly, humming a nursery song as they walked back to their compound, which was more silent than how it used to.
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Hino woke up in a void. She looked around and saw that she was sitting on water which expanded so vast, her eyes couldn't see the end, or there might not be an end of the void. It was dark, the only spot that was given light was where she sat. Hino noticed how there was only either black, white, or dark blue. No other colors were seen, or there were, but it was too small for her eyes to see. All she saw was the soft light and those colors.
"Welcome, Inuzuka Hino," someone said from behind her. Hino spunned around, her movements fast. She glared at the man in front of her. His face was too blurry, although his body was less, and all she could clearly saw from him was his dark blue kimono. Even his kimono's patterns weren't clear. It was as if he was made of shadow and water reflection.
"Who are you?" Hino asked, her tone sharp and demanding. "Where is this?"
"Such a demanding and unrespectful brat," the man mocked. "But I guess the lack of father might be the plausible reason to your action."
"I asked you a question," Hino cut sharply. "Who are you?"
"Who am I?" the man chuckled. "Why don't you ask your dearest mother who I am then? Or better yet, ask your...father who I am. The clan would love this piece of information."
"I want to hear it straight from your mouth," Hino commanded.
"And why would I do that?" the man replied.
"Or is it, perhaps, because you're ashamed of your identity?" Hino mocked. "What a pitiful man, trapped in this space, to atone for his sins." If it were any other people, they would miss it, but not Hino. The years of being a gang leader taught her to notice the slightest movement and she saw his shoulder tensed for a split second.
"Do you regret it? Or do you regret getting caught and thrown into this prison?" Hino continued. She saw the man's posture moved, but it was different from before. She was wrong about her speech then.
"You're amusing," the man finally said. "You're different from the vessels before." Hino's eyes widened slightly.
Vessels? Before? What was this man talking about?
"I believe this is our introduction," he said. "You can call me anything you want. Then we will part, my dear vessel."
"Shut up, Bluey," Hino snapped. "You-" But then the man waved his hand and Hino fell, sinking into the water. She wanted to fight it, but for some reasons unknown, she couldn't. So Hino closed her eyes and let the water took her to oblivion. But she managed to hear:
"What I want isn't with you, but with the Night Maiden."
Fate, Hino thought. If you can take the form of a human and if I ever see you, I'll punch you so hard you'll be in a coma and shove my middle finger up your ass.